Compromising effectively as a leader

There is an art to compromising in a manner that will leave you happy with the result but also respected by those you are compromising with.

Examine the advice below for compromising effectively as a leader:

Remain professional
It is essential to express yourself clearly and assertively. You should maintain a professional voice and tone, refrain from raising your voice or becoming animated and ensure you aren’t coming across as threatening. You can’t always have your way; even as a business owner. Clients may want to move on from using your services, or a company you partner with may want to change their partnership deal. Throwing a tantrum or making people feel like having a level conversation with you is out of the question will lead to people not wanting to deal with you.

Listen
Listening is key to all involved in compromising. Making appropriate eye contact is important; you should be looking at the person you are compromising with but also be mindful not to be threatening with the eye contact you are making by snarling or staring too long. Being distracted or preoccupied is off-putting for the person you are communicating with; you may be able to listen and do something else at the same time, but it shows the other person you don’t find what they are saying important enough to warrant your full attention. Focus on what they are saying and if there are ways to achieve what you both want.

Think of the bigger picture
When you focus for too long on exactly what you think you want and how that differs from what someone else wants, you can very quickly lose sight of the bigger picture. Consider the overall mission or goal, the various ways of achieving the mission or goal and the most efficient way to accomplish this. Maybe there is more than one way, and a combination of multiple ideas can be incorporated.